Should New Zealanders have been kept in the dark about the 1080 threats for nearly four months? The answer, on balance, is yes, writes John Armstrong.

After everything New Zealand's infant formula industry has been through over the past few years, the last thing it needed was yesterday's news of the 1080 threat.

Local infant formula producers are optimistic the 1080 threat is minimal but are fearful of the reputation damage it could cause.

Threats to contaminate infant formula with 1080 pesticide have been described as despicable and sick - but have caused more outrage than fear.

The New Zealand dollar dropped by half a US cent on news of a threat to contaminate infant and other formula with 1080 poison.

Dairy product prices rose in the latest overnight GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Murray Goulburn, Australia's biggest dairy co-operative, has confirmed a full-year forecast farmgate price of A$6 per kg of milk solids.

New Zealand's export dollar does not stretch as far as it did, after the terms of trade fell 1.9 per cent in the last three months of 2014.

Fonterra's board will have reason for cautious optimism when it meets tomorrow to review its farmgate milk price forecast for 2014/15.

Dairy prices posted their fifth consecutive gain at this morning’s GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Fonterra Co-operative Group has commissioned a new dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen, in the north of the Netherlands, its first wholly-owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe.

Dairy prices spiked higher at this morning's GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction, the GDT price index gaining 9.4 per cent since the last sale on January 21.

Reduced dairy production is expected to translate into higher prices at Wednesday's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Fonterra will be spared having its multimillion-dollar fight with French food giant Danone spilling back into the public arena this year.

Falling milk powder prices have hit consumers' economic confidence in the key dairy regions of Southland and the Waikato, says Westpac.

Dairy farmers were offered a respite from what has so far been a dismal season for prices after the GlobalDairyTrade index gained 3.6 per cent at the first auction for 2015.

The international dairy trade has started 2015 on a positive note at this morning's GlobalDairyTrade auction, up 3.6 per cent on last month's auction.

Dairy prices mostly improved at this morning’s GlobalDairyTrade auction, the GDT price index gaining 2.4 per cent.

The Fonterra Shareholders Council is "broadly supportive" of plans for the co-operative to start sourcing milk from South Island suppliers who are not also shareholders.

A $6 billion drop in dairy farmers' incomes this season is a blow to the wider economy, no question, writes Brian Fallow. But it's not all bad.

The medium to long term outlook for NZ dairy farmers remains sound, despite yesterday's payout cut, says rural lender Rabobank.

Fonterra said it had launched a separate milk sourcing subsidiary - mymilk - to grow its market share in the South Island.

Fonterra plans to cut costs and defer some capital expenditure so that an improved dividend can at least partially offset a likely $6b decline in income for the sector.

The industry group DairyNZ estimates that one quarter of dairy farmers will have difficulty paying their bills if Fonterra's reduced farmgate milk price comes to pass.